Why is young people's participation in local politics so poor? At the last general election, turnout was just 39% among people aged 18-24, compared to 59.4% for the whole electorate.

In the local elections last month, turnout was 40%, and although no information showing the turnout among young people is available, it was almost certainly substantially lower.

The perceived powers of local government do nothing to encourage people to care who their councillors are. If you ask a young person what their local council does the response would probably be that they collect rubbish. Most young people know little about what their council's responsibilities are, and how its decisions affect their lives.

The solutions that the government offers to this problem are short-term measures, not designed to reconnect young people with politics. Postal or internet voting is not a solution to the problem of low turnout, as it does nothing to encourage young people to think about politics. Instead, they should be encouraged to make informed decisions about the policies they believe would be best for their area. The government has failed to address the key cause of the problem - local government has lost its relevance to young people, and only a major change to the system will alter this.

Local politics can only be made more relevant to the young if councils are given clearly defined powers that are well publicised. Councillors usually work very hard for their area, but are given little praise or publicity. Local government needs to show the public that they can change situations for the communities they work for. If they are seen to be irrelevant to people's lives, then turnout will continue to decline.

A major contribution to the low turnout among young people is the lack of dynamism in local politics. If the council changes but its policies and effect on day to day life do not, choosing from a list of candidates who will all do the same thing seems pointless.

It is often claimed that the reason people do not participate in local politics is because they are happy with the situation in their councils. There is evidence to support this: turnout in Hull rose from 24% in the 2003 local elections to 37.1% in 2004, during a period when the council was the subject of much negative publicity about the way it was run.

However, it is not enough to say that if people are happy with their council they do not need to vote. More must be done to provide real alternatives at local elections to ensure that even if there have been no complaints about the current council, there is still a debate about the best people for the positions.

The only way to achieve this is to remove the barriers to becoming a councillor, to encourage more people from a wide range of backgrounds to stand. The average age of a councillor is 57, whilst there are only 14% under 45. The typical image that young people have of council meetings is that of a room of old men in suits, arguing over their expenses. Whilst this is not an entirely true reflection of councillors, it is an image which will be difficult to combat without changes to the pay and working hours of councillors.

A realistic wage needs to be paid to councillors so that being a councillor can be a full-time job. This alone should encourage more people to stand for election, as it will not be necessary for them to be retired or have a part-time job. Changes to the working hours and meeting times of councillors also need to be made. Meetings are often held in the evenings, and at weekends, leaving little time for family life. If the working hours of a councillor were more structured then many more young people with families, particularly women, would be able to stand in the elections.

The lack of attachment to their local area is often given as a factor in the low turnout among young people. If people do not feel connected to their area, then they are less likely to be interested in the local politics, and less likely to vote. From my own experience, university students often have no idea about the local politics in the area they move to. Many politics students I know will spend hours campaigning in a student union election, but refuse to vote locally because "it doesn't matter". However, it is likely that if people become engaged and interested in local politics, they will continue to participate even if they move to a different area; the problem is convincing people that local politics is relevant to their lives.

Low turnout in local elections should never be solely the responsibility of the council. The government and political parties must play a part in promoting the work of councils and councillors. The parties must ensure that they pay attention to their local policies, and encourage variation from the standard ideas. Their attitude to local politics, and the importance that they place on it will become important in drawing people's attention to local councils.

The government must increase the pay for councillors, and attempt to improve their working hours. They should take local politics seriously, and should not attempt to replace councils with regional assemblies, but make their roles distinct. Promoting interest in local politics is essential to create an interest in national politics, and provide an increase in turnout in other elections.

Short-term suggestions, such as finding new ways to cast votes, will not solve the long-term problem of voter detachment but should be used alongside measures to improve the relevance of councils.

In the end, the only way to increase turnout at local elections is to create a council system that combines an increased relevance and alternative policies to make voters feel that they have a choice.

· Alice Wilby, who is 19, is studying for a politics, philosophy and economics degree at Oxford University